The invention relates to a connecting support for connecting electrical functional elements of an auxiliary drive of a vehicle, for example of a windshield wiper drive.
It is known from the prior art for a brush holder and a connecting plug which are arranged on a motor component to be connected, for example, to a control contact pick-up on a transmission housing or a transmission cover via a cable or via electrically conductive metal strips. The metal strips are in this case inserted loosely and exposed in holders, or are extrusion coated with plastic in places. However, connection via a cable has the disadvantage that the cable can easily be torn off if it is guided loosely from the pole housing to the transmission housing. In turn, the electrically conductive metal strips have the disadvantage, because they are exposed, that they can easily be damaged or become dirty.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide a connecting support in which electrically conductive metal strips can be laid easily and on the other hand are protected against dirt and damage.
The connecting support in this case has the advantage that the fact that the metal strip is suitably surrounded protects it against dirt and damage. A further advantage is that the provision of an upper part and of a lower part which are detachably connected to one another, having a receptacle for the electrically conductive metal strip, means that it can be fitted easily and is easily accessible. A further advantage is that, for example if the metal strip is damaged, there is no need to replace the entire connecting support.
In another advantageous embodiment, the connecting support is formed integrally, by extrusion coating the metal strip, for example by means of plastic. This has the advantage that the connecting support together with the metal strip can be produced particularly easily and at low cost, and the metal strip is in this case reliably protected against dirt and damage. If two or more metal strips are extrusion coated in this case, then they are in this case preferably arranged to be adequately separated from one another, so that no electrical contact can occur.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the upper part and/or the lower part of the connecting support have/has two or more receptacles, depending on the purpose. The receptacles are in this case, for example, in the form of depressions or projections, with the projections in each case being arranged on both sides of the corresponding metal strip. This allows the metal strips to be guided securely without it being possible for them to slide, resulting in an electrical contact between them and thus in a short circuit. The depressions may in this case be designed such that the metal strips can be inserted horizontally or vertically into the depressions. A vertical arrangement of the metal strips has the advantage that a large number of them can be arranged alongside one another, and the connecting support can be designed to be relatively narrow.
In a further preferred embodiment, the connecting support is detachably connected at its ends for example to a plug housing with a plug or to a control contact pick-up with a contact spring. This has the advantage that the connecting support can easily be fitted and, if required, can also easily be removed again. In one alternative embodiment, at least one end of the connecting support is firmly connected to a plug housing by means of a plug, or to a control contact pick-up with a contact spring. This likewise results in it being easy to fit the connecting support. Furthermore, the plug housing or the control contact pick-up cannot be inadvertently removed. The metal strip 28 may in this case, for example, be connected to the plug 38 or to the contact spring 34 by means of soldering or welding.
In another preferred embodiment, the connecting support can be attached to an auxiliary drive by screwing, adhesive bonding, welding and/or clipping. This makes it possible to prevent the connecting support from being loosely attached to the auxiliary drive and, for example, from being able to be torn off inadvertently.
Identical or similar parts are annotated with the same reference symbols in the figures.